Specter Says Sestak "Smears" Obama
Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) slammed Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA) today for refusing to divulge the details of an offer he said the WH made to him last Jul. in an attempt to convince him to drop his PA SEN challenge.
Earlier today, Sestak declined to go into detail when MSNBC's Joe Scarborough asked him about the offer, which Sestak first revealed in a Feb. interview on a local PA show.
"Something happened last July, before I got in the race, and I never got asked about it," Sestak said today. "All of a sudden, someone asked me. And you know, I answered it honestly. I just said, 'yes.' But I didn't go beyond that. And actually, I don't think I should. That's politics."
Specter responded to Sestak's comments this p.m. in an appearance on "Andrea Mitchell Reports," noting that some have called the purported deal a "bribe."
"Horse-trading like that shouldn't go on, but don't conclude that it went on," Specter said. "There have been a number of commentators who have picked up on what Congressman Sestak has said and have identified it as a bribe, punishable by jail. And that's a pretty strong charge to make against the president's administration, implying perhaps even the president himself. ... Making charges without backing it up is not the right way to do business."
MSNBC's Mitchell: "Well, you're telling me that if Joe Sestak is correct, if he can prove that this was actually offered, that that is a bribe, and becomes a legal issue against whoever in the White House offered that?
Specter: "There is a specific federal statute which makes it a bribe, to make an offer for a public office. And when I was district attorney, if somebody came and told me that, I would say, well, name names, name dates, name places. That's a very, very serious charge. It's a big, black smear without the specification. But I'm telling you, it is a federal crime, punishable by jail. And anybody who wants to say that ought to back it up."
Specter said that Sestak has "gotten a lot of political mileage" out of the claim, adding that it's "really an attack" on the admin.